


Forever and Always

by the_huffster



Series: Forever and Always [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Character Death, F/M, Season 5 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 06:47:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12600680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_huffster/pseuds/the_huffster
Summary: An accident puts an end to a future





	Forever and Always

_Something isn’t right,_ Buffy thought as she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She looked out the front window in hopes of seeing Giles’ car pull into the driveway, her panic growing when she noticed the lack of a red convertible coming down the street. Hazel eyes snapped to the clock as she picked up the phone and began dialing Xander’s number.

The phone call lasted ten minutes, her fear growing even more when Anya said that her and Xander had left the Magic Box before Giles. She mumbled goodbye before hanging up, quickly picking up and calling Willow. The Slayer paced the living room as she waited for her best friend to answer the phone, sighing when it was picked up on the third ring.

“Willow! Have you heard from Giles?” Buffy quickly asked, her eyes still flashing to the window.

“No, why would I?” the Wicca answered, concern in her voice. “Shouldn’t you be out having dinner with him?”

“He hasn’t come home, Will.” Buffy explained. “He was supposed to be here an hour ago and he hasn’t called and…no one’s heard from him.”

“Well, I’m sure nothing bad has happened. He’ll be home soon,” Willow could sense that her words did little comfort her friend. “Did you try his cell?”

“Yes, and it went straight to voicemail.” Buffy sighed as she flopped on to the couch. “Will you just…call me if you hear anything?”

“Of course I will, Buffy!”

She mumbled thanks before hanging up and dropping the phone on the cushion next to her. Her eyes dropped to the engagement ring that rested on her left ring finger, a small smile appearing on her face as she remembered that night.

Giles had insisted on taking Buffy out to dinner for her twentieth birthday, stating that he wanted to treat his girlfriend to a nice dinner when she continued to protest. Buffy kept expecting something awful to happen, considering the ‘Buffy Birthday Curse’. So on their walk back to their house, the Slayer went on full alert when Giles had stopped walking.

“Giles?” she had asked, turning around to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Buffy.” She had picked up on his nervous movement as he ran his fingers through his hair, a shy smile pulled at his lips.

Her eyes had gone wide when she watched him get on his knee, his right hand pulling out a small black box. Before he had even asked anything, Buffy had screamed yes and yanked him to his feet so she could kiss him. She had laughed when he insisted on saying his proposal, not that that would’ve changed her answer.

The phone ringing pulled her out of the memory, quickly snatching up the object and answering. Buffy had expected to hear Willow or Xander’s voice, not the unfamiliar female voice that spoke. She felt her heart drop when she heard the words, “Your fiancée has been admitted…terrible accident…should come down as soon as you can…”

The Slayer hung up and bolted for the front door, grabbing the keys to the Jeep. As she climbed into the car, she forced herself to calm down. It would do no one good if she crashed on her way to the hospital.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“I’m here to see Rupert Giles,” Buffy gasped as she ran to the desk, hoping that the situation wasn’t as bad as the images her brain had been producing on the drive over.

After a moment, a nurse was leading her pass different rooms. Buffy tried to focus on what was being said, but she couldn’t seem to do so in her state of panic and fear. The walk to his room seemed to take forever until they reached the room the doctor had put Giles in.

She composed herself as best as she could when she walked in, her eyes welling with tears when she saw him. He was hooked up to different machines, a bloody bandage wrapped around his head, deep gashes on his arms, a bloody square of gauze just above his heart and a large patch of blood on the thin blanket covering his legs. Buffy took a deep breath as she sat in the chair next to his bed, her hand gripping his left hand.

“Buffy?” he forced his eyes open, slowly turning his head to face her.

“Hey,” she whispered as her thumb ran across the back of his hand.

At the weak smile he flashed, Buffy felt her resolve crumble. Not wanting to think about this being the last time she spoke to him, the Slayer quickly started talking about the first thing that came to mind.

“So I was thinking that we could look for a bigger house after the wedding. I mean, the one right now is fine, but it’s not big enough for when we starting having kids, you know?”

A ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he listened to her plan their future, struggling to keep his eyes open and his breathing as even as possible. At the raggedness of his breath, Buffy’s eyes began to water as she looked him over.

“You can’t leave me, Giles.” She told him, her grip tightening slightly. “Not now. We’re getting married in two months, remember? You’re not allowed to leave me before then,”

“I don’t think…I have a say, love.” He smiled sadly as his green eyes fell to the ring he had given her. “Perhaps you were right…we should have…have had the wedding…last month,”

“No, we’re getting married Giles.” Before he could say anything, Buffy ran into the hall and called for one of the nurses

A few minutes later, she sat next to him and gave him a smile.

“What did you do, Buffy?” he asked.

“We’re getting married, Giles.” She repeated, giving him the best smile she could.

The nurse Buffy had talked to walked in with the preacher the hospital kept on staff, and the blonde had to giggle at the shocked expression on her fiancée’s face.

“We don’t have rings,” Giles pointed out before he coughed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

“We have earrings,” she did her best to keep from crying as she removed the small hoop from her left earlobe before doing the same to Giles, turning to the others in the room and nodding her head.

They listened to what the preacher said, or tried to at any rate. Between his labored breathing and her sniffles, there wasn’t much listening going on in the small room. It was only a few verses that were said in order to give them enough time to get their vows said, the preacher giving a small nod to signal it was time for Buffy to go.

“I know I don’t say ‘I love you’ enough and even though I know you know that I love you, I feel like I should have…should, should say it more.” She began, hazel eyes locking with slowly dimming green ones. “And I do love you, Giles. I always knew I would love you, but I just didn’t think it would be like this. Although, I should have known…I mean, you were born for me.”

She gave a feeble laugh, smiling at the understanding in his eyes.

“I’m always going to love you, Giles. There’s no one out there for me,” she shook her head when he made to protest. “It’s my turn, so don’t interrupt. Anyways, there’s no one else out there for me because you were my destiny. Just like I was yours. I love you, so much Rupert.”

Buffy had just finished putting her small hoop into his ear when the slowing of his heart monitor caught her attention. Her gaze snapped up to the screen, tears filling her eyes as she watched the lines appear later and later. When she felt the weak squeeze on her hand, she looked back down at Giles and couldn’t help but let the tears fall.

“Buffy…I love you.” It was an effort for him to speak, but Giles was determined to say what he needed in the small amount of time he had left. “I’ve always said…I’ll love you until…until my last breath, but that does…doesn’t cover my love for you. Don’t forget that…you are more than just my destiny. You’re…you’re my forever, Buffy.”

Buffy read the request in his eyes, and she nodded as she put his earring in her ear. Giles forced a smile on his face as his breathing slowed down, the beeps slowing until there was nothing but a continuous beep. The blonde shook her head as she watched his eyes close, his hand going limp in hers and his chest rising one last time.

Her vision blurred from her tears as she bent down and kissed his quickly cooling lips, her hand running through his hair as best she could. She was faintly aware of the nurse gently pulling her away from Giles, saying she should call their family. Buffy numbly nodded as she quickly took the onyx ring from his left pinky, her tears falling faster as she slowly walk out the room.


End file.
